| Rafael Nadal won his seventh title of the season - and his fifth in a row - with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory against Germany's Nicolas Kiefer in the final of the Toronto Masters yesterday.
Unbeaten in 29 matches on any surface since losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the Rome Masters on May 7th, the 22 year old Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion goes into next week's Cincinnati Masters needing just 275 points to oust Roger Federer from the top of the ATP world rankings.
This means that, should Federer fall in the first round, Nadal will be the new world number one if he goes on to reach the final.
Nadal also becomes the third youngest player - after Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors - to accumulate thirty titles.
Nadal beats Murray to reach Toronto final By: thinkSPAIN Sunday, July 27, 2008
Rafael Nadal is through to the final of the Toronto Masters after a tough 7-6, 6-3 victory against Scotland's Andy Murray.
After an evenly-matched first set, Murray seemed troubled by a knee injury as he went on to lose the tie-break 7-2.
The players exchanged service breaks at the start of the second set, but the world number two emerged the stronger to score a fifth consecutive win against his former training partner.
Nadal, who is edging ever closer to overtaking Roger Federer at the top of the world rankings, next faces Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, who beat France's Gilles Simon 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.
Murray beats Djokovic to set up Nadal clash By: thinkSPAIN Saturday, July 26, 2008
Having lost all three of their previous run-ins, Scotland's Andy Murray turned the tables on reigning champion Novak Djokovic with a 6-3, 7-6 victory in the quarter finals of the Toronto Masters last night.
Murray's next opponent will be the man who knocked him out of this year's Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal, who fought back after losing an energy-sapping first set tie-break (12-14) to defeat France's Richard Gasquet 7-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Including last month's straight-sets grass court victory, the Spanish world number two has never lost to the British champion in four previous matches.
In today's other semi-final, Germany's Nicolas Kiefer takes on French sensation Gilles Simon, who, having disposed of world number one Roger Federer in the first round, last night saw off seventh seed James Blake.
Nadal through to Toronto quarters By: thinkSPAIN Friday, July 25, 2008
Rafael Nadal is through to the quarters finals of the Toronto Masters after beating Russia's Igor Andreev 6-2, 7-6 yesterday.
His next opponent will be France's Richard Gasquet, who downed fifth seed David Ferrer 6-3, 6-3.
In four previous encounters, the last of which was at last season's Masters Cup, the French tenth seed has yet to register a win.
Scotland's Andy Murray is also through after a topsy-turvy 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 victory against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, and next faces the dangerous Novak Djokovic.
The man who knocked out Roger Federer, French sensation Gilles Simon, is among the other quarter finalists. He takes on the man who knocked Andy Roddick, Croatia's Marin Cilic.
James Blake and Nicolas Kieffer complete the quarter final line-up. |